Spread the Love

I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of negativity in the air. You may have noticed it too, whether at the workplace, on the road, or at the stores you shop at. And if you follow the news, you’ve probably noticed it in politics too. Just to be clear, there’s always been negativity from some of the people around us. However, currently it appears like there is a lot more of it.

I have even noticed it among my fellow Christians, and I believe that this current negativity exist for two reasons. The first reason is that it seems like it’s not as many people living by Christian principles than it use to be. The second reason is because for the ones that are Christians, they are not as focused on the number one aspect of Christianity, and that is love. As a result, we are currently seeing a lack of love in the world.

In order to get people to be more loving, love has to be preached, taught, and practiced more in the churches and in our institutions. In the Bible, John said, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God…Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). If we are to become better people, we have to love others as much as we say we love God.

Furthermore, Jesus said to follow the commandment “love your neighbor,” but he also said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who prosecute you” (Matthew 5:44). However, it seems like people today still desire to get back at the people that did them wrong. The Old Testament law “an eye for an eye” in this day and age will only cause more hate and death if we decide to follow it. “An eye for an eye” can apply to something as simple as you talking bad about someone because they talked bad about you first. And even that can escalate into something violent. Only by “loving your enemies” can you de-escalate a situation and create an loving environment.

So as Christians, when we interact with people, we should have love on our minds as well as on our hearts. We should find reasons to say something nice to people and find opportunities to help someone in need. We should also forgive the people that did us wrong in the past. Only by following the Christian principle of love can we pave the way for a better future.